A- Pours a completely opaque black color with no head, just some bubbles on the edge of the glass and just a spec of surface foam. No lacing.

S- Sweet bourbon-laced caramel notes and rich dark chocolate.

T- The flavor comes on with nice notes of dark chocolate, raisin and more caramel. The finish is lovely as the chocolate lingers along with the sweetness and the hint of booze to create a sort of molasses ending.

M- The lack of carbonation is not extremely detrimental to the beer but I could use just a tad bit more. Full body and an oily, viscous feel.

O- I feel like this bottle peaked a year ago but it's still damn good. (704 characters)

Poured into a 16 oz snifter. Pours a slick black, with a half inch khaki head, nice lacing. Smell is oak, bourbon, vanilla, dark fruit, and coffee. Taste is what the nose would have you expect, really very balanced, with oak, Bourbon, and vanilla leading the way. Body is maybe medium, less life than I would like, dry as expected, and goes down easy enough. This is solid, but will never spend nearly $15 again on this. Needs more carbonation, would love to have two KBSs for less than one of these. (500 characters)

Found at some random-ass place in Rome by the Pantheon called Baguetteria del Fico.Wife wanted the De Molen Tasputin but they were out and the recommended this and must say, was a very good recommendation.Poured from a bottle into a pilsner glass. Not ideal but still better than from the bottle. Poured a deep brown/black, not the least bit translucent and no head to speak of.Tons of chocolate!! Flavor and nose. Very tasty! Got better and better as it warmed and was sad that it ended.Not sure ill ever see this in the states but if I do, imma grab a few. (563 characters)

A: pours a pitch black colour with a thin sheet of dark khaki foam and very light carbonation.S: upfront comes a very robust and deep smell of burned bones, black beans, and burned Turkish coffee with an acute edge of acidity, savoury and sour at the same time… underneath this bizarre façade of roastiness, the chocolate malts and aromatic resinous hoppiness wake up to the call of a good swirl, along with walnuts, ripe pear-ish esters, black dates, creamy toffee and licorice. All in all, it is as complicated as it is quiet on the nose.T: the smooth and deeply roasted malty foretaste has plenty of acidic-sweet overripe dark stone fruits, black prune jam, bitter-sweet coffee, and bitter nuts, smoothened by brown- and lighter-coloured malts, somewhat slick on the palate at the same time; turning slightly plummy estery towards the finish, moderately bitter, chewy and roasty-dry as in deep-roast coffee plus hop leaves, but the palate is also balanced by the sweet elements and a very sound acidity all in all.M&O: smooth and slick on the palate, the carbonation remains pretty low, against a rich and robust body and flavour profile where alc. is generally hidden very well. This beer is actually like a modern take on the Russian Imperial Stout without the pronounced hoppiness. A beer worth slow sipping. (1,610 characters)

T – Big roasted malt flavor to start. Followed along with a nice dose of vanilla and dark chocolate. Coffee bitterness in the mix. Caramel malt and with a great smokiness and twinge of burnt flavors. Great layered flavors. Deep breath at the end runs the alcohol burn down your throat.

M – Medium bodied and much lighter on the palate then the look would suggest. Still it coats the palate well.

O – Loved this. Flavors were just dead on. Complex flavors. Tasty. Will be seeking more but it is not cheap. Well worth the money. (795 characters)

February 2012 bottling reviewed August 2013. Poured into a Lost Abbey Teku. The beer pours out black with no light escaping. Viscosity looks about average for the style. It sports about a finger of rocky tan head that quickly dies down to a chunky lacing. The nose is really nice. Lots of roasted notes, char, coffee, and baker's chocolate balanced by an underlying vanilla-like sweetness.

Full body and lots of roasty bitter flavor. Big notes of espresso and char up front and a fairly prominent hop profile that meets the bitterness like some kind of perfect storm. There are some rummy dark fruit flavors on the back of the palate. The finish leaves lots of roasty bitterness lingering behind.

Yet another terrific RIS, though a bit pricey on this side of the pond. There isn't much sweetness to be found in this one and the bitterness is bruising, even for this style. I imagine it is intended to cellar well. I have two more bottles from this batch that I will allow to sit for a while longer. This one definitely has some aging potential and could be unbelievable with some more time on it. (1,099 characters)

Dark walnut brown appearance but there's some really nice red hue to this particularly noticeable when finishing. Perfect espresso looking head, with a coffee creamy tan top that's always present while drinking. Really does look like an espresso presented in this taster.

Palate delivers but with a little less fanfare than appearance and aroma. Classic coffee angles, and a slick dark bitter chocolate in the mid palate. Lots of hop bitterness on the finish as well complimenting but sort of indistinguishable to pick out. Light bodied in feel but not watery but some thin carbonation distracts a bit from the palate.

09 bottle, red wax. pours a pitch black, very thin brown head on the rim that fades quickly; I can see some floaters and bits in it too. Smells like rich coffee and chocolate. Taste matches the smell, with a faint hint of tobacco. Massive viscosity on this one. The best way to describe this beer would be rich coffee mocha. The chocolate aspect of it is more chocolate syrup than bakers or bittersweet. No hops whatsover (I think I read on the label it uses czech hops), just a thick chewy slightly sweet mocha. Thanks Whiskeygirlchef. I'd like to try this one fresh to see how it compares. (591 characters)

330 ml bottle into tulip glass; bottled on 4/8/2011, bottle 1671. Pours dense pitch black color with a nice 1-2 finger dense dark tan head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice soapy lacing clings on the glass. Got a few gel chunks from the bottom in there too. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, char, roasted malt, coffee, smoke, molasses, raisin, and roasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of roasted and dark malt notes. Taste of huge dark chocolate, roasted malt, char, toast, coffee, smoke, floral, molasses, vanilla, raisin, and roasted earthiness. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt, toast, char, coffee, smoke, molasses, raisin, vanilla, and roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of deep roasted flavors with moderate dark malt sweetness; and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very creamy, slick, and chalky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a small warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an incredible imperial stout! Big complexity and balance of roasted and dark malt flavors; and very smooth to sip on. An extremely enjoyable offering. (1,278 characters)

Super roasty and big dark chocolate taste on the front with the chocolate lingering more than anything. Bitter but dry. Big as the nose implies with the alcohol kick in there too. Something pretty unique about this one.

Pretty heavy but not super thick. Not too big on the carbonation. Smooth and creamy.

Very interesting, big, boozy yet mellow in a way, hardcore stout. It seems like it's going to be too much, but it never quite is, which is super interesting. I like it a lot. (714 characters)

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a thick cap on top of the beer. A foamy lattice of lace that looks like sugar crystals coats the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, char, slight cinnamon, and alcohol aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa and char flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of roasty bitterness and an alcohol kick on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp and prickly mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is quite rich and has some complex aromas and flavors. (694 characters)

A: Opens with a substantial hiss and the pour yields a really aggressive mocha head. The way it explodes reminds me of an infected beer, but fortunately this isn't being murdered by yeast. Very deep black.

T: Acrid smoke, burnt caramel, intense oak. Can be somewhat astringent and it varies behind really harsh and tasty. However, the end of this is really, really, bad as all the yeast settled to the bottom.

M: Very well carbonated and the mouthfeel seems somewhat thin. Dry and acrid. Lack of alcohol.

O: All over the place. Complex, smokey, then very flawed and astringent. Don't think I'd buy this again. (786 characters)

Pours a very dark beer, slight light comming through at the bottom. Lots of creamy head, Stays on forever. Just a huge, huge frothy head.

Smells pretty big. Plenty of charred roast in here and tons of molasses, dark chocolate, some coffee and sweet maltiness. Not overly fruity or anything. Infact it is quite earthy like tradition British stouts or even Köstritzer Schwarzbier, that distict aroma on the nose.

Surprisingly sweet on the taste though.Malty sweetness with a tiny but of smoke, a quite bitter. Not really a hoppy bitterness but a roasty bitterness. Liquorice. Als it sits in the glass more if the dark fruitiness comes out which adds to the beer in my opinion, I really dig big sweet beers.

Mouthfeel is nice and smooth. Quite full bodied. This is not one of those really, really big RIS's. But goes down very well. Low carbonation, but still well noticable. (945 characters)

Thanks to KingKong for the generous extra. 11.2oz bottle served in my Old Stock snifter. Pours one shade shy of black with a loose, tan-colored head that quickly dissipates into a froth of bubbles around one side of the bowl. Lacing is fairly minimal and is expressed as spots of foam that exhibit poor adherence. Nose is rich and complex - chocolate malt, prunes, licorice, molasses and vanilla. There's also a trace of oxidation present towards the back. Taste is a bit less pronounced than suggested by the nose - the vanilla drops away, as do the prunes; however, there is also a slight vinous quality as well as an earthy hops bittering at the finish. Mouthfeel is medium-light with a carbonation just shy of still, a slightly oily texture, some acidity that stimulates the sides of the cheeks and a slight burn across the tongue between quaffs. Overall, a very good RIS. Not sure if this is something I would sit on for an extended period, but a solid example of the style and worth seeking out. (1,001 characters)

750ml caged and stubbornly corked bottle, 10.0% ABV. Hell and Damnation, eh? That's a tall order for this style, I would suggest at the outset.

This beer pours a solid black abyss, with slight basal cola highlights, and a rising tower of frothy, tightly foamy, and somewhat creamy beige head, which leaves some randomly splattered honeycombed lace around the glass as it slowly slips away.

The carbonation is pretty laid back, the body full, fairly rich, and really quite smooth, with just a slight, niggly, inconsequential astringency that has to be mentioned for completeness. It finishes well off-dry, the singed caramel, hefty chocolate and dark fruit still prominent in all their integrated goodness.

A rather impressive RIS, the inherent flavours big, more than ably-meshed, and possessing the charm to practically taunt you to have another swig. Toss in the perennially and shockingly absent alcohol, and this offering's name crystallizes into a locus of misunderstanding - this should be called Heaven & Hell, but I hear that name's unfortunately already played out. C'est la vie, I guess. (1,560 characters)

Taste: Matches the scent very well. Chocolate, some coffee, toffee, smoked malts, as well as the plum, figs, raisins. A nice balance of a whole bunch of different flavors. Very interesting. The alcohol is very hidden in this one.

Mouth-feel: Starts out kind of light but gets pretty thick once it hits the palate. On the heavier side for beers of this style which is nice, and there is still some carbonation in here, albeit not a whole lot.

Overall: This is a very well balanced stout. The combination of a rich, full body along with a myriad of dark flavors make this one worth savoring. I recommend it if you can find it. (949 characters)

A - 3.75 - Black with a thin mocha head that dissipates fairly quickly.

S - 4.0 - Sweet malt like Sugar Smacks cereal of old, plus chocolate. Just a hint of something stiffer and roasty. Also a hint of something vinous.

T - 4.25 - All of the elements of the nose carry through on the palate. The prior reviewer mentioned chocolate covered raisins in the aroma. I would not have thought of that, but I get that note on the palate now that they mention it. Another reviewer mentioned a metallic taste. I got none of that until the very end when I was drinking the last sip full of sediment, then I got a noticeable metallic taste amongst the good tastes - I recommend skipping the sediment. Prior to that, the aftertaste and exhale consisted of a nice and manageable level of bitter black malt char. No heat.

M - 4.0 - Medium-heavy body. Not as viscous as expected

O - 4.0 - Very nice, and thankfully complex. Really expensive. I'm glad I tried it, but at this price-to-enjoyment ratio, I likely would not buy it again. (1,084 characters)

T some char and slightly sour cherry with espresso in the mouth opposed to the coffee on the nose, the chocolate's darker in the mouth and I get just a little licorice I didn't smell. much like the nose she's pretty rich but the roast is even darker in the mouth and the booze is better concealed

M medium bodied and just a little foamy, very faint heat with a long chocolaty coffee finish

O what can I say? a great tasting beers easy to like, nice dark roast but not overly intense but not for the faint of heart either, nice and smooth almost to easy to drink

This one's worth looking for, I hope I can get my hands on some of the barrel aged versions in the future. I like the "enjoy within 25 years" on the label made me feel like i was in a rush to drink this beer and I was looking for an excuse to drink a big bottle of stout tonight. (1,211 characters)